France bemoan finishing in World Cup defeat

RIO DE JANEIRO: France suffered from poor finishing in their 1-0 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Germany on Friday, midfielder Mathieu Valbuena said.

“It was tough this evening, we lacked sharpness,” Valbuena said. “They (Germany) did not have an enormous number of chances, they had a lot of success with one free kick,” he said of Mats Hummels 13th minute goal from a Tony Kroos’ free kick.

“We had a lot of chances but we did not put them away, we are just dead tonight,” Valbuena told Bein Sport television. Karim Benzema had a couple of great chances, notably in the dying seconds when he worked himself some space but his shot was batted away by the
impressive German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

“We can be proud of our campaign,” said Benzema. “We had a lot of chances in the match but the goalkeeper was on his game and had a great match,” added the Real Madrid striker.

Midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who had taken issue with team-mates Bacary Sagna and Morgan Schneiderlin when they said it would be a failure if the French didn’t go on and win the World Cup after topping their group, said the Germans had the extra knowhow to see them off.

“We were not far away from a qualification. They had a bit more experience on their side. We have to accept it, but its tough,” said the Paris St Germain midfielder. The defeat was “cruel”, he added.

French coach Didier Deschamps also said that Germany’s greater experience had decided the game.

“They used their advantage well,” he said. “There wasn’t a big difference between us and the German team.”